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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Living Large in London...part two

I have discovered I love traveling by trains. Have you ever been on a train trip?

My lovely room at the Hilton at Hyde Park. :)

When my Dad and Bonus Mum asked where I wanted to go this was the first place on my list. The Natural History Museum was a place I had slight memories of from when I was little and lived in London. I had always believed that there was a massive blue whale hanging on the ceiling.

So, we went to see if I could find my giant whale.

Look at these fantastic columns inside the museum!

One large armadillo...

Then I saw it...MY Blue Whale. It wasn't way up in the air like I thought it was, but I was much taller this time when I saw it. It was a life size replica of a blue whale. A skeleton of a real one hung above him. I was pretty please that this was a real memory. Because of my circumstances a lot of my childhood memories are mixed up.

They had all kinds of things to look at.

Isn't this beautiful!!!!

This monkey sculpture was made entirely of bullet casings.

My first sighting of a DoDo bird. Kind of impressive!

There was some great art!

We were lucky enough to be able to observe one of the restoration rooms. Very Cool stuff!

Most of you know my cp, Lenny, calls me Blom...I had to take this picture for him.

I think it was a bank.

It was our first night in London. We were hopping from one bus to another trying to get back to the hotel...Then something really exciting happened. (I've searched on u tube for it) All of a sudden loads of people showed up on their bikes or skateboards. They took over the entire street. No one could pass them on the street. They were shouting, "We are talking back the streets."

On the way back to our hotel, I saw something that I always thought was part of a childhood dream. I couldn't believe it! It was near Hyde Park. A long time ago I decided I must have seen the monument in a French movie. But...it was real, I had seen it when I was little!

I learned a lot about myself on this trip.

Have you ever been on a trip that gave you something more than a wonderful experience?

I think it's so neat that you sought out to revisit a beloved childhood memory with the whale. There are so many things I think I'd like to see/do again but worry that it wouldn't hold up to my memories. I'm glad this was such a good experience for you!

The only train ride was not to any destination but a steam powered one in Strasburg, PA and for my wife and myself the experience in Lancaster County, PA is always more than we thought we would receive. Love the Amish.

What a beautiful museum! Wow! Isn't that something about your childhood memories. I'm glad you found the whale! I've only take a short train ride, but I'd love to go on a cross country train trip someday.

I'm glad that you were able to confirm your memories on this trip. And HOORAY for the cyclists and skateboarders taking back the street! We call it Critical Mass in New York (I've never participated because one time it got too 'activisty'/violent)

Hi Sharon,And thank you for sharing more of your photos from your delightful trip to London. Being my home town, I have been to many of the sights you note in your posting. And a train trip in Britain? The whole flipping system grinds to a halt if it has the wrong kind of leaves on the track! Cheers and jolly good show, Sharon.Cheerio, Gary :)